Facebook woes hit privacy officer

PRIVACY09B-C-03OCT00-BU-JC-- New Chief Privacy Officer of Excite@Home Chris Kelly, at the Excite@Home office in Redwood City on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Jeff Chiu / the Chronicle

PRIVACY09B-C-03OCT00-BU-JC-- New Chief Privacy Officer of Excite@Home Chris Kelly, at the Excite@Home office in Redwood City on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Jeff Chiu / the Chronicle

Photo: Jeff Chiu, The Chronicle, File

Photo: Jeff Chiu, The Chronicle, File

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PRIVACY09B-C-03OCT00-BU-JC-- New Chief Privacy Officer of Excite@Home Chris Kelly, at the Excite@Home office in Redwood City on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Jeff Chiu / the Chronicle

PRIVACY09B-C-03OCT00-BU-JC-- New Chief Privacy Officer of Excite@Home Chris Kelly, at the Excite@Home office in Redwood City on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Jeff Chiu / the Chronicle

Photo: Jeff Chiu, The Chronicle, File

Facebook woes hit privacy officer

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Facebook has been in the news a lot lately, and that's not good news for Chris Kelly, who is the chief privacy officer for Facebook, and - as we've reported - is quietly exploring a possible run for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.

Kelly was at the center of a firestorm this week regarding changes in Palo Alto-based Facebook's terms of service, which critics argued gave the social-networking site control over members' uploaded material, including photos, seemingly forever.

On Wednesday, Kelly told CNN that the company will listen to complaints. The company's official blog now outlines how it has pulled back but Facebook has faced other problems that could hamper Kelly's efforts to run for a California political post.

Last year, as Cnet reported, the firm reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo after an investigation of complaints that Facebook hadn't addressed consumers' complaints of "harassment and inappropriate conduct" regarding underage members.

Facebook officials have said they are cooperating with law enforcement to protect their users from predators.

But with the Democratic AG race already looking crowded - with San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in the mix, among others - Democratic consultants are watching with great interest.

Poke this, friends: Could this be the juicy stuff of television ads in a Democratic law-and-order race in California?